


Secrets of a Reporter

by leatherandlace



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternative Universe - FBI, F/F, Once Upon A Time, Reporter AU, Swan Queen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 02:01:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5187902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leatherandlace/pseuds/leatherandlace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Reporter Regina Mills stumbles upon a secret she shouldn't have, FBI agent Emma Swan is assigned the supposedly easy job of heading the mysterious woman's investigation. But when she discovers Miss Mills has a lot more up her sleeve, one thing becomes frighteningly real: </p><p>What once was an easy job turns into something much more, something that could cause the government to collapse--taking the two of them down in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secrets of a Reporter

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been reading a lot of John Grisham lately, and this is the result. I hope you guys like it, I know I'm kind of proud of it. A huge thanks to Dana and Rachel for telling me to buck up and actually write.
> 
> I'm deciding whether or not to actually continue this, so if you like it, please let me know in the comments and leave a Kudos for good measure too. Thank you! xoxo

**in which this whole goddamn mess begins.**

 

Emma Swan was nervous, to say the least.

 

Ten years in the FBI have given her quite a good amount of experience. She had planted bugs in the offices of deadly lawyers, faced the mob itself, followed gang members, been held at gun point, looked criminals capable of killing her dead in the eye.

 

Nothing could prepare fro getting a call last night to meet with one of the most important men in the country.

 

Director Rumple Gold of the FBI was a thin, short man that would look completely non threatening if not for his lethal resume and a face that could wither any opponents in seconds (and a personality to match). He met with few agents, other than the heads of different departments, no one under 55 with at least 30 years with the FBI. He did not leave people with smiles on their faces, but fear. In fact, rumors over coffee in cheap Styrofoam cups were that the Director never smiled, and when he did it’s only when he pulls the trigger. The man was trigger happy, but no one would dare get in his way.

 

So imagine her surprise when she received a phone call at precisely 3:30 in the morning last night asking her to meet with him. She almost didn’t respond to the woman on the phone, but was quickly brought out of her stunned stupor. She now felt a mix of pride, but also a large dose of fear. What would someone like Gold want with her?

 

And now, here she was, walking down a dimly lit hallway to meet with the Director himself. She was being escorted by Gold’s second in command, Richard. Everyone called him Midas—it was supposed to be ironic. He was sneaky, a snitch, really. If he saw anything out of conduct, he’d report it to Gold. (“Get it? He turns things into Gold?” Emma had told her friend Ruby). He was a hardass, always expecting daily reports on his desk. Emma loathed him with a passion.

 

Which was why she didn’t make any pass at any side conversation. Midas didn’t talk to her either, thank god.

 

They finally made it to a sealed off room with two burly men on the side. She flashed them a nervous smile and waited for Midas to open the door. He took a key out of his coat and stuck it into the lock, and Emma took a gulp of breath before entering the room.

 

Gold stood with his back to the door, facing a large projector screen with an image of a beautiful woman who Emma would come to know as Regina Mills. “Emma Swan.” He said quietly, turning around to face her. “What a pleasure.”

 

He didn’t make a move to shake her hand, so neither did she. Midas left the room, closing the door with an echoing boom. Gold nodded his head to an empty chair at a table with an abundance of documents on it. She sat down. “And same to you, Director.”

 

“Do you know why you’re here?” He asked. She shook her head. “You’re here because I have a job for you, Miss Swan. A very important job, and I won’t take no for an answer.”

 

Her mind was racing. “Of course not, sir.”

 

“Your job has to do with this woman here.” He gestured to the woman on the screen. “Regina Mills, 34, reporter from Washington DC. Attractive, isn’t she?”

 

Emma laughed despite herself. “Hell yeah. What’d she do?”

 

Gold smiled, actually _smiled._ It quickly disappeared, though, as he pointed a tiny remote towards the screen and clicked a button. A new image was projected onto the screen, one of Regina sitting at a coffee shop with a pen in hand, her hair covering her face. “She’s a reporter, Miss Swan. She writes for the _Post._ Front page stories quite often, a good writer, really. And she found her big break.

 

“You see, Miss Mills has found out a secret I really do not want in her possession. I’m not sure she wants it either, because she hasn’t written anything about it in the _Post_. But you never know. Reporters,” he sneered, “always causing trouble.”

 

Emma was intrigued, so many questions flitting through her mind at the speed of light. “What was it that she figured out?”

 

“That is none of you business, Emma.” He snapped, and Emma curled back in her seat. “Your job is to lead the investigation of Regina Mills. I have already assigned Ruby, Mulan, and Merida to the investigation, and they have been researching for the past 24 hours. I expect you to learn everything about Miss Mills and immediately. It is your responsibility to keep her quiet, and to figure out whom she is speaking to. It is imperative she not tell anyone what she saw, and if she does…well, you will be in charge of her disposal as well, along with whomever she told.”

 

Emma blinked as though she didn’t understand what he was saying. This was an overload of information and she needed a minute to process it all. She opened her mouth to speak, but Gold beat her to it. “You are dismissed.”

 

 

**in which the research is annoying as hell.**

 

Emma put her head in her hands, throwing the files down on her desk. She needed coffee, not another damn report on Regina fucking Mills.

 

“What’s wrong, boss? Is Miss Mills not entertaining enough for you?” Her best friend and second in command Ruby Lucas called from the corner of the office, flashing a jaunting smile. Emma glared at her.

 

“I don’t understand why we need to know all of this. It’s pointless.” She cried, exasperated. They had spent the last 48 hours researching and committing to memory everything in the system about Regina Mills. Her childhood, every place she’s ever visited, her daily ritual, her social security number, her family tree and their addresses, everything. Emma always hated this part of her job. She joined the FBI for the action, the thrill of adrenaline that kept her going almost as much as the caffeine. She wasn’t fond of the research, no matter how important it was.

 

“Let’s take a coffee break.” Ruby suggested, reading Emma’s mind. “We’ll bring the lesbians along.” She meant Merida and Mulan, two of the other woman on the team. They were in charge of phone records, bugs, and the like. They’d been dating for the past three years, and were practically inseparable. Though Emma was happy for them, it was a painful reminder of how damn single she was.

 

“Rubes, you act like we aren’t gay.” She laughed, and Ruby joined along. Ruby called the couple on the phone and twenty minutes later they arrived at Granny’s Diner, the very diner Regina herself visited every day at exactly 10:30. Along with being infuriatingly gorgeous, the reporter was extremely punctual.

 

“So,” Merida rested her chin on her hand and stared at Emma, “What are your thoughts on our favorite reporter?”

 

Emma groaned. “Don’t even get me started. She is hot though. I’d probably ask her out if not for the whole ‘you better maintain minimal contact or else’ thing.”

 

The group nodded in agreement. “She _is_ your type,” Mulan said, “She reminds me of that girl you dated for a week last year. What was her name?”  


“Annalise.” Ruby supplied. “She was a bitch though.”

 

Emma rolled her eyes at their casual discussion of her love life. “True. But Miss Mills isn’t even gay, unfortunately.” The four stared discouragingly into their coffee cups with that statement.

 

“Why the fuck are we even doing this—we don’t even know what the hell this woman found out?” Ruby voiced this question they had all asked dozens of times in the last two days, and the four just shrugged in discontentment. What could she have found out? And why did Gold pick her to lead the investigation, out of all people? They had discussed for hours on what they thought she had done. They had decided it must have been something to do with Gold’s personal life. Otherwise, he would have used someone higher up if it was of some importance. But then why did everyone know about it? If it were personal, no way would Gold make it public knowledge.

 

There were so many theories and factors and variables it made Emma’s head spin.

  
Eventually, Merida looked up. “Hook actually did something useful for once.”

 

This definitely caught their attention. Killian Jones—Hook, as everyone called him—was on the Regina Mills Committee (deemed the RMC), and he was an insufferable asshole. He walked with a snobbish swagger, hitting on every girl he saw with a slimy sneer. He was particularly fond of Emma, even though she had rejected him on numerous occasions. He literally got nothing done, and Emma tried to kick him off the RMC several times, but Gold liked him for some reason.

  
Merida took out a file from her leather bag, opening it and extricating an interview print out. “I sent him to take pictures of the book store she’s seen at frequently, and this guy pinned him down and told him to put away the camera. Hook asked him about Regina, and the guy said she comes in all the time, orders coffee and then buys a book on crime, Ann Rule normally. The cashier—Robin Hood, was his name—claims Regina flirts with him a lot, but Hook said he was a cool guy so who knows, the dude’s probably a self-absorbed douche. Anyways, Robin said lately that Regina has been visiting the store less frequently, and when she has she’s really jittery. I don’t know if this is of any use but it’s a lot different than her normal suaveness, especially with men.”

 

Emma pondered this. “Is she still buying Anne Rule?”

 

After a quick glance at the interview, Merida nodded. “Same as always, boss.”

 

“What the hell is it with this woman and rituals?” Emma shook her head in disgust. She lived for the odd moments in life, how anyone could be so structured as Regina was a puzzle.

 

Mulan suddenly slammed down her coffee cup. “That’s it!” They all looked down at her, and the coffee she just spilled everywhere. “I gotta go.”

 

She practically jumped out of the booth, Merida calling out a ‘babe, wait up!’ after her. In a flurry of red and brown hair, Ruby and Emma were left by themselves to ponder extensive files and coffee for an hour until they left the diner.

 

 

**in which negotiations are made.**

 

“I want to see her.”

  
This was a fact that was announced over yet another coffee date with Ruby. It had been approximately 64 hours since she began the investigation of Regina Mills, and Emma had not seen a glimpse of this fated woman in person, and she couldn’t stand it. How was she supposed to know this woman inside out if she’d never met her? Her job was to know this damned reporter well enough to know if she spilled the beans of some secret _she_ didn’t even know.

 

How in the hell was this possible if Emma had never seen the so-called confident walk that Regina undertook everywhere she went?

 

Every other member of the RMC had seen Regina in the flesh. They’d never talked to her (that was a strict order from the Director), but they’d seen her. Emma, however, had not, for some reason. Everyone had apparently agreed she shouldn’t see her.

 

“You get attached to your investigations.” Ruby had seen.

 

“You work better on the sidelines.” Mulan had said.

 

“Emma, love, you’ll think of her too personally.” Merida had said.

 

And, yeah, sure, she had a past of connecting to her investigations. Like 5 years ago she almost died trying to save this one woman they were watching to see how best to kill her. It was a stigma around her, one she tried to disprove frequently: she got personal, and she clicked with others easily. It was a blessing and a sin. It was actually one of her only weaknesses as an agent.

 

 So she tried to go with the flow, but this investigation was becoming difficult without seeing Regina Mills with her own two eyes, living and breathing. She was too perfect on paper for Emma. She needed to see weakness. What made Regina tick? What would make her explode?

 

“Darling.” Ruby frowned at her.

 

Emma rolled her eyes at her wolfish friend. “I know, I know, I’ll connect too easily. I’ll make it personal. But I can’t do my job without seeing her.”

 

Ruby leaned back in her seat, her arms folded over her stomach. “You _are_ the boss, Em. I don’t know why you haven’t just seen her already.” Emma shrugged. Ruby’s opinion meant more than she gave her credit for. They were best friends since law school.

 

Their meeting was actually weird as hell, but it fit their relationship so it was kind of ironic.

 

Ruby was late to con law for the third time in row, nursing an incredibly bad hangover from the party at some dude’s house last night. Emma had went to that party, but left as soon as soon as she got there, and the smell of weed was just too overpowering. Yes, she smoked weed, just like any other law school student way too far over their head, but whoever owned this house was _far_ too deep for her to participate. There was probably illegal shit in the house, so she left.

 

Ruby had not, and con law was about to be dropped off her schedule if she didn’t show up.  Apparently Emma was in her way (she denied it to this day) and Ruby ran into her, knocking all the books out of her hand. It was then that a passionate, weeklong affair started. It was some of the best sex Emma ever had, but it ended because they both were suffering from a broken heart and it was too painful.

 

But neither of them cared, so they were just friends, and they still were now. Emma had to admit, this was very out of character for her, but her and Ruby had never again considered a relationship again, and everything was purely platonic.

 

So Ruby’s opinion meant a lot to her usually. But in this circumstance, not so much.

 

Emma was determined to catch a real life glimpse at Regina Mills.

 

“Tomorrow I’ll go to the Diner, grab a coffee, and wait for our Reporter to exit the book store and walk back to her apartment. I’ll watch her through the diner window and get an assessment. I’ll come back after and continue that insipid research Gold insists we do.” Emma mapped out, sketching some notes down in the already almost filled notebook she had (labeled RMC in bold black letters).

 

Ruby smiled. “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

 

 

 

**in which a first glimpse is literally mind blowing.**

 

It was the day.

 

After three painful days of research and overwhelming intake of caffeine, it was finally the moment she’d been waiting for. The moment where she would see Regina Mills.

 

Emma took the steaming coffee and receipt from the barista, thanking her as warmly as the cold morning would allow. She scanned the crowded room of the coffee shop for an empty table, deciding for a small one-seater that was the closest thing to the exit.

 

Settling into her chair, she grabbed a neatly folded newspaper out of her bag and skimmed, glancing at the clock every so often. The news was dull, as usual. She’d have known anything and everything of substance before it even hit a reporter’s desk, so why she still picked up a paper every day was a mystery. Probably a habit from law school she’d been too lazy to break (or maybe it was the cute red head named Jen that she bought it from every day).

 

Speaking of reporters, the particular reporter she wanted to see should arrive at the shop right about now, according to the outlined schedule Ruby gave her, the one she memorized extensively.

 

Emma watched the passerby outside, sipping her coffee and searching for the tell tale dark brown hair of the one and only Regina Mills she’d seen only in photos on the screen of every FBI office and in all those damn files. Tan, brunette—

 

And, damn, was she hot.

 

Oh, yes, Emma had spotted her. The woman was walking out of that bookstore across the street (Ann Rule clutched in her hand) and making her way to a cross walk a few yards down the busy road. Emma did a quick assessment, something she did automatically, especially during an investigation.

 

The first thing she noticed was the outfit. Tightly fit pencil skirt, tapered right below the knees. Thin black stockings, three inch heels that let off a sense of power. She had a crimson blouse on to top it all off, two buttons opened. Not too revealing, but just enough to make people stare, to make you noticeable. That was obviously calculated. A pea coat that hid her curves but left some things to the open eye. Emma couldn’t say she disapproved…this lady had a wardrobe, a style, it seemed.

 

The hair—dark, almost dark but not quite—was shoulder length, a bit below the ears. Typical businesswoman hair cut. Her makeup was done impeccably, Emma noticed with a harrumph. The lipstick and mascara accentuated her already gorgeous features perfectly (Emma always seemed to make one wing of her eyeliner lopsided, and something told her Regina didn’t have this problem). She didn’t look over the top, but smart, sophisticated.

 

She was Latina, around 5’3, maybe 5’2. The heels made it hard to tell. She couldn’t weigh more than 130—Ruby’s report said 134, but Emma didn’t believe it.  


Regina had a perpetual smirk on her face. It irritated her.

 

But she was gorgeous to say the least. It’s not like Emma didn’t know any of these things before—she’d ready enough tedious information about Regina Mills to write a three-volume biography. But it was nice to see the woman in the flesh. It was quite obvious that whenever Regina Mills walked into a room of any size, with any person in it, she would be noticed.

 

So how on earth, Emma thought, did she manage to slip through the cracks and find out one of the governments most heavily protected secrets—whatever that was?

 

 

**in which gold has a preposition.**

“Miss Swan, I would like you to approach Regina Mills.” Came a voice from behind her, and nearly spit her coffee all over the table in front of her. _What the hell?_

 

She turned around in her swivel chair to find Gold and Midas standing in the doorway, a manila folder in his wrinkly old hand. He made three short strides across the room and dropped the file on her (embarrassingly) cluttered desk, and the pair of men disappeared from the room faster than they appeared. They slammed the door shut and it sent a flurry of papers from her desk to the floor.

 

Emma cleaned them up with a huff, but she was much more interested in what Gold had said.

 

 _Meet_ Regina Mills?

 

 

It was almost eye opening to see Regina earlier that day, like bringing a fictional character to life, or more realistically, seeing a celebrity in person. It was crazy to think about meeting her.

 

She opened the file with shaky hands. Inside was a single paper with instructions on what to say and how to say it, how she would actually approach Regina.

 

The plan of action was to go into the bookstore at approximately 9:00 AM, when Regina visited the bookstore. She’d walk to the True Crime section of the store while Regina was ordering the coffee and wait. When the reporter approached, smile and move over a bit. Make conversation about the books. Then ask why she looked so nervous—according the to the last twenty or so pictures taken of Miss Mills clearly showed some signs of distress. It wasn’t like Regina was going to spill some FBI secret to a “stranger”, but it was a test to see how the woman acted on her feet.

 

She was to wear a tape recorder under the sweater (cream colored), and also a little bug on the waistband of her jeans (skinny jeans, denim). The entire conversation would be recorded, and would be listened to by Ruby, Merida, Mulan, and Killian in black van parked 10 yards away from the store. Cameras had been installed in the store by agents disguised as maintenance, and the crew would also be watching the conversation over and over again.

 

It was the biggest moment of the investigation, and Emma, 10 years in the FBI, famous agent, was fucking nervous.

 

**in which minimal contact is made, and damn**

There she was. Regina Mills, ordering a coffee and a blueberry muffin…that was new. She took her coffee black, Emma knew, from the report. She had interviewed the bookstore’s barista about Regina, and the curious woman had tentatively given her this piece of information. Why it was important, she didn’t know, but Gold wanted this little tidbit.

 

Emma sped past the coffee shop, trying her best to ignore Regina and not arouse suspicion. The true crime section was all the way at the back of the store, thank god; she took solace in the distance from the mysterious reporter. She was antsy. Emma stayed up all night thinking about this weekend, meticulously rehearsing with Ruby exactly what she would say, analyzing possible responses. The conversation was only supposed to be a minute and a half, but so many things could happen in 90 seconds. Those 90 seconds had been haunting Emma for the past 18 hours or so.

 

Emma found the Ann Rule section, staring at the multicolored spines of the novels, wondering how many Regina had bought. She teetered on both feet for a minute, straining her ears to hear the muffled sound of Regina’s black heels on the carpeted floor of the shop.

 

She picked up one book that looked interesting— _Too Late to Say Goodbye—_ and pretended to read.

 

It was then that she heard the sound of the heels, and she steeled herself in anticipation.

 

Regina Mills walked up next to her, and shit, Emma could smell her perfume—apples and cinnamon. It was intoxicating, just like the smile that Regina just gave her. Emma smiled back, moving over a bit and trying her best to be cool. She could almost hear Ruby’s chastising voice from inside the van— _you awkward little shit._

 

She realized she was staring at the book in her hands for the last thirty seconds, and she had to act fast. Regina never loitered in the section for more than a minute. She was a woman with a plan, and Emma had to take action.

 

She turned towards the reporter, taking a deep breath. “Do you read Anne Rule often?” Jesus she sounded like a freaking middle schooler.

 

Regina turned away from the shelf and looked her in the eyes, and Emma practically melted. She’d never seen her eyes this close and Regina was so _close_. Emma was taller by an inch or two but she never felt smaller. Regina’s eyes were dark brown, a swirl of chocolate.

 

Regina’s lips, painted crimson, pursed. “I do.” Shit. Her voice was low, and gravelly, and actually really sexy. Emma’s senses were overwhelmed. A two-word response—Regina obviously did not want to talk at the moment.

 

Emma didn’t care. “Have you read this one?” She held up _Too Late to Say Goodbye._

 

“I have.” Jesus, Regina _really_ didn’t want to talk. This would not be good enough for Gold. She needed to think of something, and quick.

 

Emma nodded. “Did you like it?” She offered a lopsided smile, just a stranger making small talk.

 

“I did. One of her best.” Regina nodded in approval. In a swift movement, she grabbed a random book off the shelf and walked away. Just like that.

 

Emma went to say something else; dammit, the conversation couldn’t end there! “Wait, why do you look so…” She was going to continue this conversation, but Regina was already gone.

 

Emma stood there, book in hand, mouth open in surprise, the apple and cinnamon scent the only thing left of a conversation she was _sure_ Ruby was cursing at.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Emma's an idiot. Like and review!


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